Choose Life
by chris400ad
Summary: She's facing the hardest decision of her life, new life. But will she choose life, or will life be her undoing. Adult themes. One-shot.


A new life is meant to be something that is celebrated, something that is the cause for joy and excitement, something that grants a new parent hope and meaning. So why could it be anything for her?

The worst thing was, it had never meant to come to this.

It had started with disrespect and indifference. He had been a boy in her peripheral vision, someone to be forgotten and ignored. He couldn't let it stay that way though, could he? Every time they met there would be a smile, or an attempt to garner her favour, a soft word here, a kind gesture there. Yet still she had ignored his approaches. She saw how other women looked at him as the boy became a man. She had heard the whispers. A family embroiled in darkness and the spawn of something even worse.

Keep away, that's what they'd said to her. Why hadn't she listened?

It had been good to start with, after she had inevitably caved and spoken to him. He had been nice, charming in an unintentional way, nervous but sincere, it had been sweet. He had been sweet. Days had turned to weeks, and before she knew it they were serious. They hadn't told anyone, how could they? It wasn't for a Weasley to date a Malfoy. So Rose and Scorpius had continued living in secret, in public she would snub him as always; and in private… Well, in private was another matter.

Only Al had known. Scorpius couldn't help but tell his best friend and Rose had a feeling that Al knew one or two things about keeping secrets, especially from his parents. Everybody knew how he and her Uncle Harry had been, and still were to some degree. Al, as much as he might want to, was always going to be guarded around his father – and for good reason.

It had all been so good, so simply enjoyable that Rose had wanted it never to end. Then, of course, it had. She had just begun her seventh year. Cold winter air had begun to creep into the castle, flus and sickness swept around like fiendfyre, so when the vomiting had started Rose thought nothing of it. Then it hadn't stopped. Christmas loomed, work piled on. Everyone was having a good time while Rose had to force herself to hangout near lavatories. Just in case. Eventually she'd allowed herself to be dragged to the Hospital Wing and that's when her world had crumbled.

"I'm – what?" she remembered saying, the words sounding to her as though they came from another girl's mouth.

"Pregnant, Miss Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said. It had struck Rose that it had been the only time she had seen something of a smile on the matron's face. Not that that had made things any easier. Pity and pregnancy. What a wonderful combination. Rose couldn't really remember what happened after that, it had all just blended into a blur of emotion and crying. A lot of crying. She remembered that. The rest? She'd tried to block that out of her mind, who wouldn't try and forget the worst day of their lives?

Then had come the question of what to do. She had to choose, there was a time limit after all. This wasn't the kind of thing that could be ignored, not like Charms homework or Gobstones Club. It was life changing, life-giving, life-destroying. Lessons started to pass her by, her grades slipped. There were murmurs of concern. She stopped being present in conversations, shut herself off from her friends, even from Scorpius. He never pushed her. Not once. No matter how many plans she bailed or evenings she ignored him. He was patient. That made it harder.

In her darker moments, when nobody was around, Rose found herself considering getting rid of it. Never to tell anyone, the charm was pretty simple, it would only take a moment. It would be easy. No-one needed to know. But then she would see its unborn face in her dreams, pale blue eyes amid a mess of flame red hair. Rose often found herself at the top of the astronomy tower, staring out, looking at nothing. The cool air would numb her skin, just as her mind began to numb along with it.

This was one of those nights. Merlin, what was she going to do? As looked down at the Grounds below her, a small part of her couldn't help but find them inviting.

"Rose? What are you doing up here?"

"Scorpius?"

The edge pulled away from her.

"Are you okay? I'm… I've been worried about you. You've not really been yourself lately."

"How did you know I was here?"

"Al gave me this," he held up a scruffy old piece of parchment. It was completely blank, but Rose knew enough about her boyfriend's late night escapades with his best friend to know better. The Marauder's Map. "You cancelled, remember? Said you were with Jasmin and Maddie, only I saw them in the library and they said that they hadn't seen you properly for days. What's going on, Rose?"

"Nothing."

"Really? You call this nothing? I'm worried about you, everyone is. Please, just tell me. Please."

Even from where stop she could see the tears shimmering in his eyes. The words almost fell from her lips, she desperately wanted to tell her, to finally rid herself of the biggest secret she'd ever had in her life. They wouldn't come, they couldn't. He might leave, just turn and walk away, or worse, stay. Give up everything to be with her. Scorpius had made no secret of his dreams of one day being an auror. He desperately wanted to prove that he could be more than the Malfoy name, and that it would no longer stand for the darkness it always had done. If Rose told him, how could he go and do that? She would be making him give up on his dreams.

He'd say it was okay, and for a time it would be. Then years down the line he would hate her, and then she would be alone. Every path she foresaw ended the same.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Silence engulfed the pair. Rose couldn't even look at him, she just kept staring a point above his head.

"You know I love you, and if you can't tell me, then fine. Don't tell me. But don't hide away up here like this, we can do whatever you want. Anything you need to take off whatever it is. I just… I can't see you like this. Not anymore. I've tried. I really have. I thought I could pretend it wasn't happening, I thought maybe it was just a phase, or stress, or whatever. I don't know anymore."

He sighed, she could practically feel him searching for the words.

"I'll always be here for you, you know that."

"I know."

"So why can't you trust me?"

"I do!" Rose heard herself scream.

"Then trust me. Trust that I'm never going anywhere, trust that I love you, trust us."

"I'm pregnant." The words came out so soft that they were taken off by the breeze. Scorpius stared at her confused, he could see something wasn't right. Rose swallowed her panic and stared into the eyes of the man she loved. "I'm pregnant."

What felt like an eternity passed as Scorpius didn't even seem to breathe. This was it. He'd leave. Turn and walk away, run off from the horror show that was his life. In the end he didn't say anything, he simply walked up to her and kissed her. For the first time in months Rose felt herself smile as his arms wrapped around her.

Scorpius only spoke when they broke apart.

"Guess we're gonna have to tell your parents now."

Dread twisted at the pit of Rose's stomach. She could just picture her dad's face. What was he going to think? And her mum, she didn't even want to think what her mother was going to. Minister of Magic she may be, all that meant was she knew how to bury their bodies without getting caught.

"Merlin. I hadn't even… I thought you were going to…"

"Leave? Never. Even if your mum tries to kill me I'm staying."

"But it's huge, it's impossible, it's -"

"Ours." Scorpius promised. "We'll get through this, together. I promise."

And that in moment, no matter what was to come, Rose believed him. She just hoped her parents would too.


End file.
